My NC500

[Ootohere]

Some local peoples economy is being boosted.

Next year we will see how many more low paid workers they can get for the tourism industry.

See how many locals are prepared to work for minimum wage doing the beds and waiting tables.

 

So much money coming into the local economy really means the Highlands and Islands Council closing toilets is a load of sh!-t.

Round the back of closed toilets that is.  Overflowing bins and car parks should not be as issue, just put more bins and empty them everyday 

and build more car parking. 'Simply Clever'.   Jobs for the boys and girls.   

[shyVRS245]

Spectacular scenery captured wonderfully. Take my hat off to you,visited some of the places mentioned but makes me want to make the long drive up north next summer to see the places we missed back in 2010. The drone photo's were incredible.

[stuart vrs]

Giving this a go on the weekend. 

[Mickmartin]

On ‎24‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 22:18, stuart vrs said:

Giving this a go on the weekend. 

Hope you get the weather, I'm skipping it this year and will do it again in 2020.

 

I wont lie and pretend I'm not jealous.

[Ootohere]

Just filled up in Inverness and spare fuel. It will be a good night. 

[Ardbeg]

On 24/10/2018 at 16:44, Mickmartin said:

 

I went in the height of the summer and I kid you not when I type this, I had to reverse once in 200 mile's of back roads due to the lack of traffic as the roads were dead.I can understand the local frustration in places but the flip side is the local economy is getting boosted from the tourism, I would hate for them to change the route in anyway as its perfect the way it is now.

 

 

 No, it's not.  The road infrastructure in some parts (not all) of the far Northwest can't cope with the amount of vehicles using it now, and the sheer number of people who have no clue how to use single track roads will drive you mad.  It's alright around Torridon and Achiltibuie, the main road from Ullapool to Kylesku has never given me too much hassle, and not many people use the road from Lairg to Foinaven.  But my God, it's total chaos around Durness.  Comedy gold, unless you would like to get somewhere in your lifetime. Still, it's not as much of a zoo as Skye, and I really hope it never gets that way.  I do wish the Highland Council would put more emphasis on sustainable tourism, but hey ho, they've never been known for being terribly forward thinking.

I'm in that area next week, same as every year (not on NC500).  I'm in a black Yeti with lots of stickers on it.

Edited 29 May, 2019 by Ardbeg

[Mickmartin]

1 hour ago, Ardbeg said:

 No, it's not.  The road infrastructure in some parts (not all) of the far Northwest can't cope with the amount of vehicles using it now, and the sheer number of people who have no clue how to use single track roads will drive you mad.  It's alright around Torridon and Achiltibuie, the main road from Ullapool to Kylesku has never given me too much hassle, and not many people use the road from Lairg to Foinaven.  But my God, it's total chaos around Durness.  Comedy gold, unless you would like to get somewhere in your lifetime. Still, it's not as much of a zoo as Skye, and I really hope it never gets that way.  I do wish the Highland Council would put more emphasis on sustainable tourism, but hey ho, they've never been known for being terribly forward thinking.

I'm in that area next week, same as every year (not on NC500).  I'm in a black Yeti with lots of stickers on it.

 

I can only speak from

my experience and Driving up that was a absolute breeze compared to back and rural roads here, Miles and miles of perfect  tarmac roads.

 

Drive the A82 from Balloch to Fort William on a hot weekend and it’s way worse IMO.

 

 

 

 

Edited 29 May, 2019 by Mickmartin

[KenONeill]

19 hours ago, Mickmartin said:

 

I can only speak from

my experience and Driving up that was a absolute breeze compared to back and rural roads here, Miles and miles of perfect  tarmac roads.

 

Drive the A82 from Balloch to Fort William on a hot weekend and it’s way worse IMO.

 

 

 

 

I see your point, but upper Loch Lomond (Tarbet to the climb in Glen Falloch) was never designed to handle today's maximum width buses and trucks.

[Ardbeg]

I drive the A82 a lot and know all its sticking points too well.  In addition to the fun to be had around Loch Lomond, it can take you an hour to get from Torlundy to the Nevis roundabout in Ft. William if you're there at a busy time in summer.  Maybe ten years ago, there was a proposal to build a bypass around the town, but the powers-that-be, in their infinite wisdom, shelved it because it didn't seem needed at that time. 

 

I've taken to driving it at night when I can during Silly Season, because tourists are diurnal, for the most part.  One of these days I'm going to compile my dashcam footage  in a 'best of Highland driving,' the combination of tourists doing 40mph and impatient locals doing dodgy overtakes.  To go back to on-topic, if you're on the NC500 or on your way to it, and you see a big queue of vehicles behind you, pull over and take some nice photos.  If you're on a singletrack road and you see a vehicle on your tail, pull into a passing place and let it pass.  And if you are taking all the bends at 30 on single carriageway, please don't fire up to 60 on the straights if you see that someone wants to pass.

[stuart vrs]

On 30 May 2019 at 12:07, Ardbeg said:

I drive the A82 a lot and know all its sticking points too well.  In addition to the fun to be had around Loch Lomond, it can take you an hour to get from Torlundy to the Nevis roundabout in Ft. William if you're there at a busy time in summer.  Maybe ten years ago, there was a proposal to build a bypass around the town, but the powers-that-be, in their infinite wisdom, shelved it because it didn't seem needed at that time. 

 

I've taken to driving it at night when I can during Silly Season, because tourists are diurnal, for the most part.  One of these days I'm going to compile my dashcam footage  in a 'best of Highland driving,' the combination of tourists doing 40mph and impatient locals doing dodgy overtakes.  To go back to on-topic, if you're on the NC500 or on your way to it, and you see a big queue of vehicles behind you, pull over and take some nice photos.  If you're on a singletrack road and you see a vehicle on your tail, pull into a passing place and let it pass.  And if you are taking all the bends at 30 on single carriageway, please don't fire up to 60 on the straights if you see that someone wants to pass.

I pulled over to let them go in front as I was on my holidays and you see the awesome scenery. 

[stuart vrs]

On 28 May 2019 at 13:06, Mickmartin said:

Hope you get the weather, I'm skipping it this year and will do it again in 2020.

 

I wont lie and pretend I'm not jealous.

Followed the same route east to west, clocked up 1,710 miles, me the Mrs and our dog, we used a motor home, needed it especially with the dog well worth it. Awesome views throughout the journey. North Coast 500 didn't disappoint. Filled the van with over 240litres of diesel. Whoever does this will not be let down. Rained whilst driving but dry when stopped/parked up. 

[maffyou]

I really want to do this at some point! Looks amazing and my wife keeps saying she wants to go to Scotland (probably not quite what she had in mind )

 

Don’t know when it will happen, our 9 year old daughter might not be too impressed and I might go a tiny bit over the mileage allowance on my lease deal on order 🤣

 

But thanks for sharing the write up and photos, and to everyone else for the comments. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread 👍

[Ootohere]

'Beware take care'.

Lots of drivers / riders getting busted.

Speeding and dangerous driving being anti-social and illegal and can be costly.

http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-48989218

 

[maffyou]

2 hours ago, Roottootemoot said:

'Beware take care'.

Lots of drivers / riders getting busted.

Speeding and dangerous driving being anti-social and illegal and can be costly.

http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-48989218

 

Good. If you want to race your car do it at a track day, not on public roads. 

[Walterzkoda]

Me and my black Labrador loosely followed the NC500 back in 2017, driving my camper clockwise round the route with my kayak on the roof. We went out of season, late September, early October and actually used the route to get to remote spots such as Mellon Udrigle.

 

I can’t wait to do the route again with my GF, but will spend longer away from the route, to reach the better kayak launching spots.

[Gmac983]

On 16/07/2019 at 15:10, Roottootemoot said:

'Beware take care'.

Lots of drivers / riders getting busted.

Speeding and dangerous driving being anti-social and illegal and can be costly.

http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-48989218

 

 

The more the merrier! 

 

Typically us locals are appreciative of the added visitors and income to the area. 

But what kills it is the giant convoys of moron bikers (certain high performance car owners clubs are guilty also) who think they're God's gift to motoring and on a private road/racetrack just for them because they're on their holidays. Things like overtaking just because they can, not because they need to and then slowing down for every single bend in the road or even randomly stopping (on the actual road!) once they've caught up with their mates in suicidal positions then having the cheek to say car drivers are inconsiderate. It's all very scary to experience particularly when it's on such a regular bases in peak summer time. 

Come and enjoy, please... But be considerate of others even more so when running together in groups/convoys. If you wish to get a move on or get your knee down take it to a track day. Also plenty of suitable view points and passing places to stop in so pull over safely. 

Edited 16 November, 2019 by Gmac983

[karlbar2k]

So a question to those that have done it in a camper.  What size camper, what time of year and how was the driving?  Planning a trip in April so hoping to avoid mad crowds and have experience of driving the highlands as far north as the tip of syke and ive done the Argyll coast road from loch lomond all the way round to ballachulish.  Have to do it in a camper for the dog but need to know if a mid sized camper not a transporter with a bed is going to be hard work..

[Ootohere]

I think most people think the same thing about going when it is not busy...

April will be as busy as other times probably. 

Easter School Holidays. Good Friday 10th, Easter Sunday 12th April.  Bank Holiday Easter Monday. Quieter times are now. 

Size / width hardly matters as long as you are comfortable at passing places meeting similar size.  Van size is easiest.

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/476125-north-coast-500-in-ev-vids-or-any-information-on-chargers-if-you-have-any-please

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 16 January, 2020 by Roottootemblowinootsoot

[Walterzkoda]

56 minutes ago, karlbar2k said:

So a question to those that have done it in a camper.  What size camper, what time of year and how was the driving?  Planning a trip in April so hoping to avoid mad crowds and have experience of driving the highlands as far north as the tip of syke and ive done the Argyll coast road from loch lomond all the way round to ballachulish.  Have to do it in a camper for the dog but need to know if a mid sized camper not a transporter with a bed is going to be hard work..

Mine is based on a Peugeot Boxer XL chassis at 6.34 metres and was an absolute doddle on the narrow roads. I was in no hurry and made full use of the numerous passing places, for both oncoming traffic, as well keeping an eye on my mirrors and dipping in to passing places to allow faster stuff to overtake.
 

The traffic was fairly light when I did it late September in to October and the worst queues I saw were caused by 4 Italian motorhomes, driving painfully slowly, in convoy and totally oblivious of the problems they were causing behind. Because they were travelling so close to each other, they couldn’t have made use of the small passing places, even if they were minded to.

With views and beaches like this, I can’t wait to go back.....

 

[Ootohere]

I would expect that Police Scotland might be pretty active stopping vehicles at Southern points on roads leading to the routes to the North Coast 500 and further north to ask where they are going to.

http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-52235650

 

[MickA]

In planning our Scotland trip for this year (will be the third time) taking in the NC500, I said when to my OH is it May or September? We both agreed Sept so booked accordingly our accomodation.

We've had one cancellation so far, the B&B have closed down for the entire year which now is understandable as they are elderly. I can think back to stopping in various places around Scotland and it was in our experience mainly retired/elderly couples who were the hosts.

I don't want to start cancelling our entire trip just yet, if it does come to that then so be it. We'll wait on what's best for the country and those that are in power to tell us, but most important those that are inviting us to stop at their B&B's/hotels.

The whole of the UK needs to get going again after this emergency is over, when that is who knows, they'll sure need that income again

[MASKO]

On 16/11/2019 at 22:25, Walterzkoda said:

Me and my black Labrador loosely followed the NC500 back in 2017, driving my camper clockwise round the route with my kayak on the roof. We went out of season, late September, early October and actually used the route to get to remote spots such as Mellon Udrigle.

 

I can’t wait to do the route again with my GF, but will spend longer away from the route, to reach the better kayak launching spots.

 

My wife and I visited Mellon Udrigle some years back when on holiday at Loch Rannoch. As I remember it we had to park up just off the road/track and walk a couple of miles to the empty spectacular beach. We had our elderly retriever with us and I'll never forget his excited reaction when he saw the sand and the beach. He's passed on now but it's a treasured memory for me and the wife.

[MASKO]

Thanks Mickmartin really enjoyed your photos taken on your trip, particularly the drone ones. We've done much of the journey you did and your photos brought back many happy memories. I remember Wick being a bit bleak but Durness being spectacular. We stayed near to Kyle of Tongue (670 miles from our home!) and I recollect doing some fishing under the Bridge there. Wasn't keen on Ullapool but who would forget that wonderful (and scary) drive across the mountains to Applecross. 

 

We have a holiday in Scotland every few years. Last September we stayed in a remote cottage about 10 miles from Lochgilphead and although we enjoyed it we would have enjoyed it more if had stopped raining! Fortunately, the weather is usually kinder for us. Looking forward to going again next year.

[Mickmartin]

On 15/04/2020 at 19:26, MASKO said:

Thanks Mickmartin really enjoyed your photos taken on your trip, particularly the drone ones. We've done much of the journey you did and your photos brought back many happy memories. I remember Wick being a bit bleak but Durness being spectacular. We stayed near to Kyle of Tongue (670 miles from our home!) and I recollect doing some fishing under the Bridge there. Wasn't keen on Ullapool but who would forget that wonderful (and scary) drive across the mountains to Applecross. 

 

We have a holiday in Scotland every few years. Last September we stayed in a remote cottage about 10 miles from Lochgilphead and although we enjoyed it we would have enjoyed it more if had stopped raining! Fortunately, the weather is usually kinder for us. Looking forward to going again next year.

 

Glad to hear you enjoy our beautiful country as much as I do.

 

We traced our family roots back to Applecross and my family ran a fishing trawler there after moving from Harris due to hard times, My great great grandmothers sewing machine is exhibited in the Applecross museum. Lochgilphead is lovely, I can be there in about an hour and forty five minutes from where I live and I have friends who stay in the neighbouring little fishing town of Tarbet.

 

I completed the whole coastal route of Scotland last year, Cant keep me away from the scenery.

 

 

Edited 11 June, 2020 by Mickmartin

[MickA]

Following my post in April I had to make a decision whether to carry on with our plans to tour Scotland, including the NC500 or just forget about it for this year.

Well that's been made now, we cancelled everything. For the good of our health really I'm asthmatic and just don't want to risk it this year. Plans afoot to do it neaxt year now, everything crossed we can get there.